


Dawn

by Macx



Series: Deep Water [4]
Category: Godzilla - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-13
Updated: 2011-05-13
Packaged: 2017-10-19 09:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/199176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macx/pseuds/Macx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a reflective piece of fic. Nick watching the sun rise and thinking about himself and Godzilla</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dawn

 Last night's rain had washed away the dirt that always seemed to cling to the concrete and steel of the city. It was invisible dirt, created by smog and all the little molecules of filth produced by a city full of millions of people. The clouds still churned over the sky and gave everything a drab, dreary air, but the bustle and life of New York was unbroken by the bout of bad weather. The rain had soaked everything, but it was nothing extraordinary.  
At five in the morning, the city was filled with people going after their work or going to work, and it wouldn't stop throughout the day. For one group disappearing inside an office building, another three groups spilled out of the underground and into the streets. Seven million people living within 309 square miles almost on top of each other. It made the city something unique, something special.  
Away from the crowds and the noise, except for what drifted over through the wind, stood a rather run-down looking building. It used to be a ferry building for the Staten Island Ferry Company, but it had been abandoned a while ago. Now it was used for private matters, doubling as a lab and living quarters. At this time, no one was awake yet.  
No one but one person.  
Sitting on top of the roof, Dr. Nico Tatopoulos gazed out into the coming dawn, the twilight almost hiding him. He was a slender, tall man, dressed in jeans and a warm sweater, a jacket draped over the attire. Brown hair moved gently in the wind and blue eyes held an expression of thoughtfulness, He sat on the lip of the roof, cross-legged, as if he wasn't afraid to fall. And he wasn't. He wouldn't fall very far. If he would fall at all.  
Curled up next to the building like a cat was one of the largest creatures the Earth had ever seen. It wasn't the only monster, but it was unique in many ways. At least to Nick. Grayish-green scales plated a tall and long, muscular body, powerful, long legs able to run long distances and jumping heights, and equally muscular forearms lay in a heap left of the building. A large head rested on the foreclaws, orange eyes partially slid open. Nostrils opened and closed regularly, breathing slow and relaxed. The whole body was relaxed, but ready to spring into action if need arose.  
Nick gazed at the lizard, smiling involuntarily as he felt a ripple pass through him. An orange eye turned up to look at him and he smiled more. The presence in his head grew, leaking into his conscious mind, but he didn't care. It was so normal now. He couldn't think of what it had been like before..... before Shanee Kaplan had injected him repeatedly with the experimental Rush drug and turned his brain into a very receptive instrument for someone else's empathic emanations. Someone... namely Godzilla. They had always been linked, but now it was more than just gut-feeling and strange coincidences. Now it was reality and hard fact that Nick and Godzilla shared a strong, empathic bond.  
Godzilla's presence was like a blanket, though he could seriously compromise Nick's sanity if he surprised his human parent and broke through the mind shields. The shields were something normal now as well. He still had trouble maintaining them under pressure, but after almost a year of hard and relentless training, as well as encounters with monsters that had called Godzilla to the defense, Nick was getting really good at it. He had to. Prolonged exposure to the aggression Godzilla always projected when battling an intruder in his territory turned Nick equally aggressive. He had more than once snapped or nearly bodily attacked one of his friends in the beginning.  
His friends.  
They understood. Now they did. In the beginning, feelings had been diffuse and all had been confused, including Nick. Monique had taken over his shield training, though she couldn't call herself an expert on the subject. No one was. This was unique. It had never happened before and was unlikely to ever happen again. She had taught Nick about control, about shutting out emotions, and he had learned to shut out Godzilla's emotional broadcasts. Elsie had helped him with her unconditional friendship and her belief that Nick could do it. Randy had simply told him that he could do whatever he set his mind onto, and he had done it over and over again in the past. Mendel had been afraid of Godzilla from the start, trusting him as far as he could throw him, and always keeping his distance if possible. The link had freaked him more than the rest, but the scientist inside had broken through the fear. And he was Nick's friend.  
Friendship was what had helped him through the darker hours. Friendship and the loyalty and protective presence of Godzilla. It was what he had always felt when it came to Nick. Nick was his adopted parent, the one who taught and protected him, just like he protected his parent. Nick had always known it, right from the start, but now he could feel it. And it grew with every encounter.  
In the beginning, there had been just random projections. Nick had been unable to actually tell what was going on. Then he had learned to tell them apart, to recognize patterns. And then something else had happened. He had felt a kind of intelligence behind the presence. Warm, strong, caring, feral, aggressive and territorial. The intelligence understood, though it needed to learn, but it understood.  
Nick had been freaked and surprised in one. Yes, Godzilla wasn't just an animal. He was much more. But the intelligence, the sheer power behind it, had amazed him. It had been unexpected to say the least. He had been aware of the fact that Godzilla solved problems with cunning and he remembered tactics. He used different strategies to battle enemies and he grew. Nick had never been more acutely of this growth than since the establishment of the link.  
Now the intelligence touched him, almost if asking a question, and Nick projected a feeling of warmth and pride. It got him a soft snuffle from the gigantic lizard. Godzilla raised his head, the scaled snout now at Nick's level, and he automatically reached out and touched it. In his mind, he relayed the touch that was barely felt, if at all, through the heavy armor, and Godzilla rumbled ever-so-softly. Nick felt an embrace he had gotten used to only slowly. It was reptilian, unlike anything human, but it was an expression of trust and love. Another smile crossed his lips.  
They were such a strange picture, he knew. A small human being and such a gigantic creature. Nick was barely the size to reach halfway up to Godzilla's knuckles. Still... they were friends. Linked empathetically. One in mind to the point of being inseparable. The thought alone that the monster could view such a small creature as his parent was ludicrous in most people's eyes, but now.... more had developed. This was a bond no one could break. Sometimes Nick wished he could do more than what were his limited capabilities. Size was a big problem, but Godzilla had never learned it differently. His parent was smaller, more fragile, couldn't do the things he could, but he was his parent. End of discussion. Those who dare to threaten Nick beware.  
The presence shifted, wrapping itself protectively around Nick for a second, then retreating slightly. Godzilla was still there, a bit stronger than usual, and Nick rubbed his hand over the rough skin. It got him another snuffle and Godzilla pushed his head gently against his hand. Nick laughed as he was nearly thrown off the ledge he sat on.  
"Easy, big guy," he called.  
Godzilla gave a rumbling whine.  
He had arrived at the ferry building throughout the night, drawn through whatever had made him come, and had curled up. He had acted like this in the beginning, when he had still been a 'teenager' in human terms. He had slept on land next to where his parent was, guarding and protecting. Later, as a fully grown adult, he had moved into his own place, an underwater cavern beneath New York. This morning, though, he had decided to pay Nick a visit.  
Nick had woken out of a deep sleep, immediately aware of his charge so close by, and he had decided to go outside and spend some time with him. As cold as it was at this time of the day, the warmth inside Nick made up for it. No one would ever understand what he felt, what he could feel when it came to Godzilla, but he didn't really care. Yes, this bond had probably destroyed his relationship with Audrey, but he had gotten over it. Even without Godzilla, he knew it wouldn't have lasted. She had run out on him before, had turned down a proposal, and it had just been a matter of time. He might end up being all alone, but he still had him.... Godzilla. As strange as those thoughts were, they didn't frighten him.  
But he still had his friends, loyal friends, his team. Each and every one of them cherished and valued. Nick's thoughts drifted and he unconsciously leaned onto the head next to him. Godzilla made a ruffling sound and playfully nudged him.  
"Hey, cut that out," he chuckled.  
The lizard raised his head slightly while also tilting it and Nick was lifted up, hanging on to the scales. The tilting had made him slide onto the flat snout and he laughed openly at the sheer exhilaration Godzilla projected. He was playing, without hurting, and he did it with incredible thoughtfulness for the fragile human body. Sitting on the flat head, he could see for miles. Everything was so small below, like was when standing next to the mutant, and for a moment, Nick was lost in the thoughts of another being. So much larger, so much stronger, but still able to be thoughtful and caring.  
Nick was lowered to the concrete below and he slid off, smiling like a child at Christmas, feeling joy race through him of such an intensity, he wanted to lose himself in it. Godzilla rumbled and curled his long, powerful tail around his body, the tip coming to rest in front of Nick. The young biologist leaned against the large foreclaw behind him, reveling in the feeling of the intelligence he felt share his mind and thoughts. No, he didn't really want it any other way. This was what he shared with no one else, what made him unique and maybe a freak as well, but it was only for him. Godzilla was his only. Possessiveness touched his mind and he embraced the presence, letting it feel his pride. A large nose lowered next to him, a questioning rumble replacing the silence.  
"Don't mind me," he said softly, patting it. "Just contemplating and appreciating."  
A snuffle. Agreement. Nick was his parent, he shared him with no one else in that matter, even if Nick might choose a partner.  
He laughed again as he interpreted the empathic response. Godzilla was asexual and had had to accept the concept of mates and sex drive, but he had learned to cope.  
They lived and learned.  
Continuously.  
The sun rose slowly over the city and the first, weak rays touched the tall buildings. They crept over the horizon, reflected off the water, and the dawn bathed everything in an angelic surreality. Nick watched the sun, Godzilla's head hovering above him, protective and possessive. They were an odd sight to behold, but no one would ever come close to discovering just what they shared. As much as he had wished to find a way to break this link in the first few months, he wouldn't let anyone try now. Going back to what it had been before was no option; for none of them. The link gave Nick a certain kind of control over the giant lizard, one he had had only randomly before. It also brought with it a negative taste though. What if he was no longer? What if something should ever happen to Nick?  
Nick sighed, chasing the dark thoughts away. Sometimes, they just happened. He couldn't fight thinking about the future and what it might hold for them.  
Godzilla rumbled almost inaudibly, snorting softly. The wind ruffled Nick's hair and he smiled once more. Godzilla rarely let him drown himself in misery. In a way, his charge didn't know misery as humans did and his reactions to Nick's side wallowing was poking and prodding, wanting to know, and simply being there. It was all Nick needed.  
Thanks for being there, he thought, wondering, as always, how verbal thoughts arrived in Godzilla's mind. It didn't really matter because Godzilla interpreted it correctly, but it was simple curiosity nonetheless.  
The reply was a ripple of emotions and Nick closed his eyes, enjoying them.

Elsie had watched him. She liked to watch, study, learn. Even after a year she knew she understood barely half of this strange relationship. Each time she saw them interact, man and monster, fear battled emotional warmth, and the warmth won. Godzilla would never hurt Nick consciously, and in their latest battles against all the mutations rearing their ugly heads, he had become more cognitive of where Nick was, what he couldn't do because it might hurt his parent unwillingly.  
The beauty of this relationship didn't escape her, neither did the strangeness, but she couldn't think of it being any other way. Nick was Godzilla's parent, his protector and his fiercest defender. And he was his mind-linked partner. He had finally accepted it and it had changed everything so profoundly.  
Amazing.  
Elsie smiled at the picture beneath her, the large creature lying relaxed on the concrete, Nick standing just before him, both watching the dawn. Her relationship with Nick had changed slowly as well. Both had noticed, but both were careful and she wanted it that way. As much as she had teased Nick in the past, had playfully poked and prodded, had remarked on something or other when it came to his personal life, she had never really and seriously thought about having a chance. That had changed. Not because Audrey had dumped him. It had to be something else. Still, she didn't want this to be rushed. Yes, she had helped and was helping him through the attacks when Godzilla broke his shields, but Elsie didn't want this to be a relationship built on the heat of the moment. She didn't want this to be an obligation Nick felt toward her or something formed through shared pain and stress. Like Audrey, she thought with a twisted smile. Not like Audrey, no. If something came out of this, it would not be the result of sharing intense situations, like fighting monsters.  
Elsie could accept Nick as he was, could accept that Godzilla came with the package, and even if it sometimes gave her the willies, it more often than not filled her with pride.  
Suddenly a large, orange eye rolled and Elsie was startled as Godzilla looked at her. Nostrils opened briefly, air gusting out. The eye gazed at her, intense and... knowing? She shivered. Godzilla was more than just a mutated animal. Nick knew it intimately and she had realized it long ago. There was intelligence beneath that thick skull and right now, it sent shivers through her.  
Elsie held the reptilian gaze, then Godzilla turned his eyes back on watching the waters. She rubbed her eyes and wondered what that had been about, but with Godzilla, no one could ever be sure.  
As more light spilled over the city and the night was chased away, Godzilla rose smoothly, lithely, and started out toward the water. He wasn't exactly safe out in the open, and it wouldn't do to have people calling in monster sightings. Major Hicks knew what to make of them, but it would get his blood pressure up unnecessarily. Nick watched his adopted child disappear beneath the waves and then turned to walk back into the building. He looked up and smiled at her. Elsie returned the smile and waved.  
Okay, so Godzilla seemed to have spilled his discovery of her. Uh-huh. So what else was new?  
Elsie decided to get the coffee machine going. Nick would probably need one, just like she did in the morning to wake up, and it would give them some quality time before the others arrived or woke.

Godzilla slid into the water, the dark waves closing over his muscular body, and he easily dove into the bay of the Hudson river. He aimed for the open sea, planning on patrolling the immediate area around his home. Nick's presence was alive and warm in his mind, cherished and welcome, and he felt his parent's relaxed state-of-mind. Since his parent had become such a clear presence with him, Godzilla had learned more and more about Nick. His parent was mostly a mystery to him, but now that his mind was so open, Godzilla had become aware of him in so many small ways. He learned every day and he understood. He understood the differences, he had learned Nick's way of communication, learned his language, and he had become aware of who the others around Nick were. He had never really taken notice of them, except that his parent cared for them, but now he knew more.  
One had especially been on his parent's mind lately and he had felt her presence on the roof of the building. She was no danger and she held Nick's interest. Because of that, she also held Godzilla's interest as well.  
Godzilla let the currents caress his body and he playfully dove deeper, chasing some fish without actually feeling hunger. It was just that he felt good. Exhilarated. Complete. Checking briefly on his parent, Godzilla found that he was still comfortable and secure, sending out signals he had come to recognize. He was talking to one of the others. The female. The lizard had problems with the different genders and trying to understand it through his parent was a challenge as well, but he thought he had an idea. His parent was different; he accepted that.  
The ocean opened up before him, vast and peaceful, much more than the world above. Rising briefly, he exhaled in a gust of air and water spraying, then dove again. The dark body was soon lost in the equally dark depths of the ocean as Godzilla followed his territorial instincts to protect what was his.


End file.
